AZE.US
The United States believes Azerbaijan and Armenia have entered an irreversible phase toward peace, while the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, or TRIPP, is expected to evolve into a broader regional platform linking the South Caucasus with the Middle Corridor.
Aryeh Lightstone, senior adviser to the U.S. Special Envoy for Peace Missions and one of the officials closely involved in negotiations around TRIPP, outlined Washington’s vision in an interview with CivilNet marking the first anniversary of the August 8 White House summit.
Lightstone said the progress made since the summit had exceeded expectations, arguing that the relationship between Baku and Yerevan has changed substantially over the past year.
“Our goal is to make sure there is no more war between Azerbaijan and Armenia,” he said, adding that the two countries had been placed on an “irreversible path for peace and prosperity.”
“Whether that path takes two months or it takes two years, it is on an irreversible path,” Lightstone said.
He acknowledged that no infrastructure project or diplomatic agreement can guarantee that conflict will never return. But he argued that economic interdependence makes renewed confrontation considerably less likely.
Countries that trade with one another, rely on shared infrastructure and develop mutual economic interests are less likely to go to war, he said.
TRIPP Seen as Part of the Middle Corridor
Lightstone stressed that Washington does not view TRIPP simply as a highway connecting Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave through southern Armenia.
The project is expected to include road and rail links, pipelines, electricity infrastructure and fiber-optic connectivity.
According to Lightstone, the prolonged conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia had created what he described as an “unnatural blockage” between Central Asia and Europe.
TRIPP, he said, could help remove that barrier and create an additional connection between Central Asia, the South Caucasus and European markets.
“What we are creating here with Armenia and Azerbaijan is the opportunity to link not just Azerbaijan and Armenia, but to link the entire region,” he said.
Lightstone described TRIPP as a “wider regional platform” rather than simply a political initiative.
The broader U.S. objective, he said, is to create multiple reliable transportation, energy and supply routes across the region, particularly at a time when governments are increasingly focused on secure access to energy, food, critical minerals and international markets.
Washington Addresses Armenia Sovereignty Concerns
A significant portion of the interview focused on concerns inside Armenia over whether Yerevan would retain full sovereignty over the territory through which TRIPP is expected to operate.
Lightstone rejected suggestions that secret arrangements had been reached.
“There are no side deals. There are no secret deals,” he said.
He said Armenia would remain sovereign over its territory, while the United States would act as a partner in the project.
Lightstone used a landlord-and-tenant analogy, saying that granting operational or usage rights does not amount to surrendering sovereignty.
He urged critics to examine the publicly available agreements carefully rather than rely on speculation.
TRIPP Could Push Border Demarcation Forward
Lightstone also acknowledged that several unresolved issues remain between Azerbaijan and Armenia, including the demarcation of their state border.
Rather than waiting for every dispute to be settled before infrastructure work begins, he argued that TRIPP itself could become what he called a “forcing mechanism.”
“TRIPP will be built, and as TRIPP is built, by definition the borders are going to be demarcated,” he said.
Resolving one practical issue, he argued, could make it easier for the sides to address other outstanding disputes.
Lightstone cautioned that the entire Azerbaijan-Armenia agenda would not be settled at once and said the normalization process should be viewed as incremental.
Iran Factor Will Not Stop the Project, U.S. Says
The route is expected to run through Armenia’s southern Syunik region, close to the Iranian border, raising questions about the project’s security implications amid tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Lightstone said the United States would not pursue the project in a way that undermines Armenia’s security.
“Our concern about Armenia’s security is top,” he said.
He characterized TRIPP primarily as a long-term infrastructure project, noting that roads, railways, pipelines and electricity networks are designed to serve economies for decades.
Current geopolitical tensions, he argued, should therefore not prevent the development of what Washington sees as a multigenerational economic opportunity.
U.S. Has Committed $21 Million So Far
Lightstone also discussed the investment component associated with TRIPP.
He said $21 million has currently been committed to investments intended to support the route and related economic projects.
The figure, however, should not be viewed as a ceiling.
“The U.S. government is not in the business of charitable giving. The U.S. government is in the business of strategic investing,” Lightstone said.
If early investments generate returns and strengthen regional transportation, energy and supply-chain infrastructure, he suggested that substantially more U.S. capital could follow.
Lightstone also linked the project to Washington’s broader interest in the Middle Corridor and in developing supply chains that reduce dependence on routes running through countries the United States sees as competitors or strategic challengers.
His comments indicate that Washington increasingly views TRIPP not merely as part of the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process, but as one element of a much larger transportation, energy and investment architecture connecting Central Asia, the South Caucasus and Europe.
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